How many have tried the Great Courses on DVD or CD?

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How many have tried the Great Courses on DVD or CD?

1leccol
Lug 8, 2014, 8:14 pm

These on-line courses in many subjects are particularly interesting in their literature surveys. Never having taken a college level course in literature since my college years were taken up in engineering and mathematics courses, I find these on-line courses interesting and informative. Like any other subject matter, a lot depends on the professor. They are expensive, but my library has quite a few.

Those with a dgree in literature may find them somewhat sophomoric, but I would be interested in your opinions, and in return, give you mine. I am currently listening to three subjects : a survey of short stories, a survey of the comedies, histories, and tragedies of Shakespeare, and great authors of the Western Literary Tradition. The last being 84 lectures of 1/2 hour duration each.

2Django6924
Lug 8, 2014, 8:35 pm

Where do you find these courses? You mention they are online courses; if so, I wouldn't mind listening to a few.

3SDB2012
Lug 9, 2014, 8:58 am

I've enjoyed many of the courses in literature and philosophy. They've all been surveys of the subject matter, appropriate for those who don't already have in depth knowledge of the topic. Each course comes with a guidebook that summarizes each lecture and gives a bibliography and suggestions for further reading. These have been a great way to sample new areas of interest while working out or in the car.

Don't pay full price fo the courses. They have frequent sales that put the courses at 75% off or even more. Audio downloads can be a real bargain when on sale.

Here is the link for their site.

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/greatcourses.aspx?cm_mmc=affiliate-_-ongoing-_-te...

4leccol
Modificato: Lug 9, 2014, 11:18 am

2 Django

These Courses are expensive even if they are discounted. Your best bet is to check them out from a local library. I live in a relatively small town, and our library has a substantial amount of Great Courses. All instructors have at a minimum a PHd in their field. I have only had one instructor who was insufficient. He had a PHd from Harvard and taught Roman history. He was bad, but he died last year so you don't have to worry about him.

I don't like the CDs and prefer the DVDs where you can see the instructor plus some visual aids.

5ironjaw
Ago 19, 2021, 4:21 pm

About 20 years ago, I found out about The Great Courses and purchased directly from them a course on Philosophy on CD and the guidebook and transcripts (I don't recommend the transcript books - waste of space). This was before they started issuing DVDs. This was the start of the podcast and audiobook movement that I quite enjoyed. I soon, gave up, as I was living in the UK back then and the course was quite expensive as well as to to get it shipped to the UK. As I understand it now, they offer the Great Course Plus, though Wordrium, a streaming service in all you can stream concept that may make it easier for some to have instant access to an entire catalogue, just like Audible.

6Glacierman
Modificato: Ago 19, 2021, 4:47 pm

We've purchased several of these courses, primarily in history, and have enjoyed them all. Two exceptions to our predilection for history were the course on Jane Austen and that on King Arthur. The latter covered both history and the Arthurian literary tradition. Good stuff!

7AMindForeverVoyaging
Ago 19, 2021, 5:22 pm

I subscribe to Wordrium and use it often to further my enjoyment of literature. I'm currently watching the course on The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire as I read the LEC, in addition to various Shakespeare courses as I read my LEC volumes. I even was able to enhance my enjoyment of A Brave New World :) And then the other night I watched The Atomic Cafe, and I've completed courses on many topics. So needless to say, I recommend it. Far better value than purchasing individual courses. I believe one could try it free for something like 7 days.

8ironjaw
Ago 20, 2021, 1:18 pm

>7 AMindForeverVoyaging: that sounds wonderful. I’ve just had browse again at the catalogue and there’s some great stuff. Also I’m getting tired of audible and would like to watch something instead. I would like to take the 7 day trial. Anyone have discount code?

9Glacierman
Ago 20, 2021, 7:29 pm

I neglected to mention the history course on the Peloponnesian wars which has greatly enhanced my reading of Thucydides. Highly recommended.

10ironjaw
Ago 21, 2021, 2:16 pm

>9 Glacierman: thanks. I shall try that one.

11AMindForeverVoyaging
Ago 21, 2021, 7:07 pm

>8 ironjaw: Don't hold me to this but I believe if you cancel during the first 7 days you won't be charged. But Great Courses customer service should be able to help you.

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